The National Weather Service forecasts mostly sunny skies here in Cobb County on Saturday, August 31, 2024, with a high near 92 degrees.

The National Weather Service has issued a hazardous weather outlook for Cobb County and other parts of the region due scattered thunderstorms that are expected this afternoon into evening. A few storms could also become strong to severe with the main threats being strong to damaging wind gusts and heavy rainfall.

What you will read in this article

1. The extended forecast for Cobb County
2. Last month’s climate summary for the metro Atlanta region
3. The climate almanac for metro Atlanta
4. What the National Weather Service is, and what it does

What does the extended forecast have in store?

This forecast is centered on Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Marietta.

Today

A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 4 p.m. Mostly sunny, with a high near 92. Calm wind becoming southeast around 5 mph in the afternoon. 

Tonight

A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 8 p.m. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 70. West wind around 5 mph becoming calm. 

Sunday

A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 2 p.m. Mostly sunny, with a high near 92. Light and variable wind becoming northwest 5 to 10 mph in the afternoon. 

Sunday Night

A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 8 p.m. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 69. Northwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening. 

Labor Day

A 40 percent chance of showers, mainly after 2 p.m. Partly sunny, with a high near 89. Calm wind becoming northeast around 5 mph in the afternoon. 

Monday Night

A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 2 a.m. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 68.

Tuesday

A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms before 8 a.m, then a chance of showers between 8 a.m and 2 p.m, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2 p.m. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 81. Chance of precipitation is 40 percent.

Tuesday Night

A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 65.

Wednesday

A chance of showers and thunderstorms before 8 a.m, then a chance of showers between 8 a.m and 2 p.m, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2 p.m. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 79. Chance of precipitation is 40 percent.

Wednesday Night

A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 64.

Thursday

A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 79.

Thursday Night

A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 63.

Friday

A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 82.

What was the climate like in the latest reporting period?

The NWS climate summary for metro Atlanta has now been updated with July 2024 figures.

In an article entitled What is the Difference between Climate and Weather?, the National Ocean Service describes the difference as follows:

“Weather is what you see outside on any particular day. So, for example, it may be 75° degrees and sunny or it could be 20° degrees with heavy snow. That’s the weather.

“Climate is the average of that weather. For example, you can expect snow in the Northeast in January or for it to be hot and humid in the Southeast in July. This is climate. The climate record also includes extreme values such as record high temperatures or record amounts of rainfall. If you’ve ever heard your local weather person say “today we hit a record high for this day,” she is talking about climate records.

“So when we are talking about climate change, we are talking about changes in long-term averages of daily weather. In most places, weather can change from minute-to-minute, hour-to-hour, day-to-day, and season-to-season. Climate, however, is the average of weather over time and space.”

---

---

The climate report for the Atlanta area for the previous month shows how much departure from the average temperatures that month represents. The average temperature for a date is the average over a 30-year period.

Date	Max	Min	Average	Departure from norm	Precipitation
2024-07-01	97	79	88	7.9	0
2024-07-02	90	76	83	2.8	0
2024-07-03	92	77	84.5	4.2	0
2024-07-04	97	76	86.5	6.1	0.01
2024-07-05	94	76	85	4.5	1.43
2024-07-06	93	76	84.5	3.9	0.02
2024-07-07	90	74	82	1.4	1.75
2024-07-08	91	74	82.5	1.8	T
2024-07-09	92	75	83.5	2.7	0.29
2024-07-10	88	73	80.5	-0.3	0
2024-07-11	91	70	80.5	-0.4	0
2024-07-12	94	75	84.5	3.5	0
2024-07-13	97	76	86.5	5.5	0
2024-07-14	97	77	87	6	0
2024-07-15	96	75	85.5	4.4	T
2024-07-16	91	74	82.5	1.4	0
2024-07-17	92	75	83.5	2.4	0.06
2024-07-18	92	74	83	1.8	0.09
2024-07-19	87	73	80	-1.2	0.39
2024-07-20	83	70	76.5	-4.7	1.39
2024-07-21	89	72	80.5	-0.7	0.04
2024-07-22	87	72	79.5	-1.7	0
2024-07-23	90	75	82.5	1.3	1.1
2024-07-24	88	71	79.5	-1.8	1.52
2024-07-25	87	74	80.5	-0.8	0.75
2024-07-26	91	73	82	0.8	0.39
2024-07-27	85	73	79	-2.2	T
2024-07-28	80	73	76.5	-4.7	3.47
2024-07-29	87	71	79	-2.2	0.65
2024-07-30	92	71	81.5	0.3	0.65
2024-07-31	93	73	83	1.8	0.02

Climate Almanac for metro Atlanta

This almanac provides information on past climate conditions for August 31, allowing comparisons to current weather. 

Simply put, it helps you see what the weather would typically be like on this day, according to historical data.

Daily Data	Observed	Normal	Record Highest	Record Lowest
Max Temperature	M	87	96 in 1953	63 in 1986
Min Temperature	M	70	75 in 2016	55 in 1887
Avg Temperature	M	78.5	84.5 in 1994	60.0 in 1986
Precipitation	M	0.13	3.72 in 2006	0.00 in 2023
Snowfall	M	0.0	0.0 in 2023	0.0 in 2023
Snow Depth	M	–	0 in 2023	0 in 2023
HDD (base 65)	M	0	5 in 1986	0 in 2023
CDD (base 65)	M	14	20 in 1994	0 in 1986
Month-to-Date Summary	Observed	Normal	Record Highest	Record Lowest
Avg Max Temperature	91.9	89.0	96.0 in 2007	80.9 in 1879
Avg Min Temperature	72.3	71.3	75.2 in 2007	65.6 in 1967
Avg Temperature	82.1	80.2	85.6 in 2007	73.9 in 1879
Total Precipitation	0.80	4.30	10.02 in 1920	0.02 in 1925
Total Snowfall	0.0	0.0	0.0 in 2024	0.0 in 2024
Max Snow Depth	0	–	0 in 2024	0 in 2024
Total HDD (base 65)	0	0	11 in 1986	0 in 2024
Total CDD (base 65)	520	470	646 in 2007	284 in 1879
Year-to-Date Summary	Observed	Normal	Record Highest	Record Lowest
Avg Max Temperature	77.2	75.0	77.9 in 2012	69.3 in 1895
Avg Min Temperature	58.3	55.8	58.7 in 2023	50.0 in 1940
Avg Temperature	67.7	65.4	68.2 in 2012	60.3 in 1940
Total Precipitation	43.54	34.78	53.45 in 1920	20.72 in 2007
Total Snowfall (since July 1)	0.0	0.0	T in 2001	0.0 in 2024
Max Snow Depth (since July 1)	0	–	T in 1942	0 in 2024
Total HDD (since July 1)	0	0	11 in 1986	0 in 2024
Total CDD (since Jan 1)	1973	1648	1973 in 2024	1046 in 1967

Period of Record:

• Max Temperature : 1878-10-04 to 2024-08-30
• Min Temperature : 1878-10-04 to 2024-08-30
• Precipitation : 1878-10-01 to 2024-08-30
• Snowfall : 1928-12-25 to 2024-08-29
• Snow Depth : 1928-12-25 to 2024-08-27

For much more information on the climate in our area, visit the NWS Climate FAQ for the Atlanta area.

What does the National Weather Service do?

The National Weather Service (NWS) is a part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

The NWS describes its role as follows:

“The National Weather Service (NWS) provides weather, water, and climate forecasts and warnings for the United States, its territories, adjacent waters and ocean areas, for the protection of life and property and the enhancement of the national economy. 

“These services include Forecasts and Observations, Warnings, Impact-based Decision Support Services, and Education in an effort to build a Weather-Ready Nation. The ultimate goal is to have a society that is prepared for and responds to weather, water and climate events.”